Services / 04 Fabrication and shop automation
Machine shop software integration, starting with a pilot
If jobs are tracked on a whiteboard and machine data is typed in by hand, we start with a labelled pilot on one to three of your machines, set up next to the software you already run.
Who this is for
Machine shops, fabricators and small manufacturers who track jobs on whiteboards and type machine data by hand, and want a clear view of job status without replacing the software they already use.
What we build
Three areas, each at a different stage.
Job tracking tied to quoting and invoicing, so a job's status and its invoice sit in one record.
Machine data collection into a database and dashboard. No machine connector exists yet, so we offer this only as the pilot described in the questions below.
Print-queue automation, shown as our own early-stage work: a print dispatcher that so far runs in rehearsal mode and logs every step of a job. Its hold at the first layer for a human look is built but not yet run on a real printer; a drying check and a human go-ahead are planned.
Where to start
Start with a shop walk-through
We walk the shop with you and list each machine with its controller, the protocol it speaks and the system it reports to today, if any.
This machine data inventory points to one connector or dashboard, with a quoted price before work starts.
Ask for this first stepWhat backs this up
Our own work, early stage
- The ERP's production planning
- 3D-printed part designs written as code, each checked and rendered automatically
- A print dispatcher, early-stage, that so far runs in rehearsal mode and logs every step; its first-layer hold for a human look is built but not yet run on a real printer, and a drying check and a human go-ahead are planned
- Measured results from our own test prints, such as thread clearance and shrinkage in PETG
- A clearly labelled fixed-scope pilot, set out under the questions below
Questions and answers
- Why a pilot instead of a full rollout?
- Because no machine connector of ours has run in a shop yet, and you should not pay for a full rollout on a promise. The pilot records a baseline first, measures the change, and ends with a pass or a fail you can see.
- Do you replace JobBOSS², ProShop or Paperless Parts?
- No. The pilot is designed to sit alongside the systems you already run. We have no connector for JobBOSS², ProShop or Paperless Parts today, so any link to them would be scoped inside the pilot.
- What does the pilot cover?
- It covers one to three machines that you choose with us and runs for a fixed period. Before it starts we agree in writing the exact length, the baseline measurements and what counts as a pass or a fail. You give us access to those machines and to the people who run them. We set up the data collection, take the measurements and report against the pass or fail criteria.
- Which machine protocols do you work with?
- We have no machine connector built today. A pilot would aim at the protocol your controllers speak, such as MTConnect, OPC UA or MQTT. The walk-through records your controllers and protocols first, so we can say what is possible on your machines.
Not sure where to start?
Tell us what you have today and what is slowing you down. We reply with the first step we would suggest.